On April 18th, around 30 officials from the prefectural government, municipalities, and private businesses attended the opening ceremony for the Open Labo within Iwate Prefecture’s Advanced Science and Technology Center (in Kita-iioka, Morioka City). Vice governor Shigeki Chiba gave the opening speech, saying, “I hope that the Open Labo is used by a lot of people, and that it will encourage more accelerator-related businesses to be sited here, as well as heighten excitement for the ILC among the Iwate people.” Then he and KEK’s Professor Emeritus Masakazu Yoshioka unveiled the piece de resistance – the cryomodule.
The Iwate ILC Coordination Office was opened within the center in June 2016, and handles work related to the Iwate ILC Promotion Vision. It also serves as a hub for coordination between government, industry, and academic officials. The Coordination Lab and this new Open Labo will strengthen our efforts in information sharing, industrialization, human resources training, and research and development. Now it will also have a cryomodule, niobium superconductive cavity, and other devices on display as well as explanatory panels. It will be run as a facility where anyone can learn more about the ILC.
The cryomodule on display is around 6 meters long, with a circumference of around 1 meter. The prefecture is borrowing it from KEK, which built it as a prototype around 10 years ago and used it in actual experiments. This is the first time you are able to see such a device on display outside of KEK. The ILC will require 1,000 cryomodules, each about twice as long at 12 meters a piece. Electrons and positrons will be beamed through these modules where they will collide in the middle.
Prof. Yoshioka said, “It’s hard to envision what everything looks like from just the design files and illustrations, but with this cryomodule you can get a picture in your head. It’s really important to have this as we continue our development for the ILC.” He continued, talking about the necessity of the ILC project. “We are facing population decline and an aging population. Innovation is what will ensure our society lasts. The ILC will be home to the essence of innovation for decades, and will change Japan.”
